Many different types of exterior accessory products are known for attachment to vehicles such as pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles (“SUVs”), crossover utility vehicles (“CUVs”), four-wheel drive vehicles (“4×4s”), jeeps, police cars, all-terrain and other utility vehicles. Such exterior accessories can be provided as part of a trim package offered by the original equipment manufacturer, but more commonly are provided in the automotive and trucking aftermarket. Many such exterior accessory products are formed primarily using tubular metal (such as steel or aluminum alloy) as the primary starting material, with the tubular metal being cut, bent and/or welded into the shape desired for the exterior accessory product. Standard tubular metal shapes include round, rectangular and oval in cross-section.
One type of exterior accessory known as a headache rack is attached behind the cab in vehicles such as pickup trucks. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,668,124 and 9,637,178, for example, incorporated by reference. In addition to being ornamental, such headache racks serve to protect the rear window of the cab, including protection from cargo while such cargo is being placed into the cab of the pickup truck and protection should the cargo shift forward during driving (and particularly stopping) of the vehicle. The headache rack must be shaped to adequately perform this protective role. Like other exterior accessories, many common designs of headache racks are primarily formed from tubes and longitudinal bars.
For attaching to the top of the walls defining the bed of the pickup truck, headache racks can have one or more tubes directly inserted into stake pockets, or can use stake pocket anchors such as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/338,193, for example, incorporated by reference. Some headache racks also include screen portions attached to the tubes or longitudinal bars, which permit at least some viewing through the rear window of the cab and through the screen portion. The screen portion, if present, is typically formed of a sheet material, which could be sheet metal (to provide significant strength against cargo), or alternatively could be a lighter weight polymer or fabric sheet material.
Exterior accessory products such as headache racks are normally subjected to considerable amounts of dirt and grime, and are treated very roughly and must withstand considerable impacts and loads, and exterior accessory products should readily withstand such conditions. The headache rack must be robust and reliable, to last for carefree operation over the life of at least one vehicle despite being openly exposed to weather over its years or decades of use. As much as possible, the headache should also have minimal cost and expense in manufacturing and assembly. In keeping with these objectives, further improvements to headache are possible.